


A Good Nights Sleep

by Nuggsmum



Category: Loki - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-09-14 22:33:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16921674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nuggsmum/pseuds/Nuggsmum
Summary: A Tumblr Bitch Birthday Club One ShotLoki is having the hardest time sleeping….





	A Good Nights Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> A Tumblr Bitch Birthday Club One Shot for the amazing tumblr @avenger-for-ever
> 
> Warnings: nothing really… pretty tame for me!
> 
> There is a little snippet from Pride and Prejudice in here - by the amazing Jane Austen

 

I scrunched down lower, the rough bark of the tree scraping my back through my dress. The tree I had picked in the palace garden to lean against was a very uncomfortable one. I huffed and tried to concentrate on the book I was reading. It wasn’t happening. I huffed and shifted again. I had gotten off my morning shift in the palace kitchen and couldn’t bring myself to go to my room. It was so beautiful outside, and I needed to be alone. It had been a horrible morning. I had burnt the dish I was working on because I was trying to help another girl and got distracted. Which is bad enough if you were a good cook. I was not. .  
And it was one of the prince’s favorite dishes, too. I wasn’t sure which one, but the head cook had screamed at me for a full 7 minutes. I had counted, watching her face red turn with anger and the veins in her neck pop out. She had told me that my wages would be garnished for my carelessness.

_Perhaps I should be looking for a new job, not re-reading this book for the millionth time_ , I thought. _You’re a horrible cook anyways, Laura. You’d make an even worse maid. And lets not even mention gardening!_

I leaned my head back against the tree trunk and groaned. The only jobs worth having were within the palace. They paid fair wages, and you could live in the palace dormitories. I hated cooking though.  
My book was failing to bring me out of my mood. Flipping the page, I thought I’d try reading out loud. That always forced me to focus.

 

> _“It taught me to hope,” said he, “as I had scarcely ever allowed myself to hope before. I knew enough of your disposition to be certain that, had you been absolutely, irrevocably decided against me, you would have acknowledged it to Lady Catherine, frankly and openly.”_   
>  _Elizabeth coloured and laughed as she replied, “Yes, you know enough of my frankness to believe me capable of that. After abusing you so abominably to your face, I could have no scruple in abusing you to all your relations.”_   
>  _“What did you say of me, that I did not deserve? For, though your accusations were ill-founded, formed on mistaken premises, my behaviour to you at the time had merited the severest reproof. It was unpardonable. I cannot think of it without abhorrence.”_   
>  _“We will not quarrel for the greater share of blame annexed to that evening,” said Elizabeth ``The conduct of neither, if strictly examined, will be irreproachable; but since then, we have both, I hope, improved in civility.“_

  
I glanced up to see a man standing near by. He seemed to be hanging on my words. He wasn’t looking at me at all, in fact, his eyes were closed. I stopped speaking when I realized that it was Loki. He almost looked as if he were asleep, but standing up. He glanced my way. He looked exhausted. Larger purple bags were visible under his eyes and his normally sharp blue eyes looked almost dull. He cleared his throat and stared at me until I realized I had been gawking at him. As I watched, the signs of tiredness disappeared.

Feeling mortification creep over me, I quickly brought my book up to cover my face. After a minute or so, I chanced a look to see if he was gone. He was. I breathed a sigh of relief. He had seemed irritated. I didn’t think it had to do with his burnt breakfast, but who was I to know? He might have been mad that I was in the garden, though it was for public use. He was said to be very easy to irritate, especially lately. I tried to go back to my book, but it was lost to me. I gave up and went back to the kitchen.

I was attempting to make a cold soup, when I realized too late that I had mixed up the measurements for water and oil. The sludgy mess in the pot looked nothing like the refreshing, tasty soup in the picture. I was pondering it when the head cook came over and look over my shoulder.

"Stupid girl!” She shouted at me, though we were closer in age than I would like to admit. “That’s it. You will recite the recipe until you have it memorized, then make it again. If you cannot manage it, you will not be allowed to cook again until you can.” She stomped away. I stood, staring at the book, tears forming in my eyes. I dashed them away, sniffed quietly and began reciting the recipe. I read it, out loud, for an hour. At the end of the time limit, she came back over and snatched to book from my hands.

“Go on, then. Make it.” She said, hands on her hips. I turned from her and began assembling my ingredients. As I worked, I recited the recipe. Once I was done, I presented her with a bowl of the chilled soup. She eyes it critically, sniffed and dipped her spoon in. I winced as she placed the spoon at her lips and slurped it loudly. Then gagged. She spat the soup out into a towel. She snatched the bowl from my hands and threw it out the window. A loud yell echoed from under the windowsill.

“What the hell?!” Came a man’s voice. Running over, the head cook and I leaned out and were face to face with Loki, the bowl of soup on his head, green goo dripping down his lovely black hair. I noticed he still looked exhausted. The dark circles under his eyes very apparent against his pale skin.

“Yo-yo-your Highness!” She gasped, reaching out and grabbing the bowl from its perch on top of his noble brow. “I didn’t realize you were there! But why were you under the window? Not that it is any of my concern!” She colored at his narrowed gaze.

“Madam. Do you regularly discard of food in this manner?” He asked, his voice silky. Even with soup colored hair, he was glorious. His eyes flicked to me, as if he heard my inner praise of his soupy self.

“I certainly do not!” She raised herself to her full height, puffing out her chest in indignation.

“Then enlighten me. Why was my nap disturbed by a flying bowl of soup?” He said, so quietly that she had to lean out the window to hear him.

“Please forgive us, Prince! It was not intentional! I was trying to teach the girl a lesson. Her cooking is abysmal. She burns everything. She mixes up the recipes. She does it on purpose, I think!” She sputtered. I looked at her, shocked that she was throwing me to the wolves. His piercing blue eyes settled on me, and eyebrow raised.

“Is that so? Perhaps you need a new position.” He said, and stalked off.

I couldn’t help but notice the soup trialing down his back and running over the curve of his… I shook my head to focus, my boss was hissing in my ear, telling me I’d never cook again, and that I would be scrubbing pans for the rest of my life. I sighed.

The next morning, I was on pots and pans. I blew my hair out of my face as I scrubbed frantically at a giant pot. The head cook walked by, squinting her eyes at the pot, looking for something to criticize. Someone dropped a tray, distracting her. She moved away. I breathed a sigh of relief, as much as I hated this job, I needed it. At least until I could find something else. So I scrubbed and held my tongue. I scrubbed for hours. By the time my shift was over, my hands were raw and bleeding.

I made my way to my quarters, looking through my things for a poultice that the nurse had given to me to me the last time I was on pots and pans. I sighed in relief as I rubbed it on my aching skin. There was a note on my bed, that I hadn’t noticed when I first came in, I was so intent on relieving the pain in my hands. I reached over and plucked it up.

_Your presence is requested by Prince Loki, tonight at sundown in his quarters._

I stared at the note. I thought that it must be a joke, but it was on the official stationary of the royal family. Even though he had, for some reason, requested my presence, it was within my rights to refuse to go. I put the note down on my bedside table and went about my day. Having gone to the market and then spent the rest of the day by the lake, I returned to my room just before sundown. When I opened the door, there was another note, laying on my pillow. Snatching it up, I read it.

_Your presence is **required** by Prince Loki, tonight at sundown in his quarters._

I stared at the note, the bolded word not escaping my notice. I paced a little in my small room, wondering what I should do.

“What does he want from me anyways?” I pondered. “He can require my presence all he wants, he can’t make me go there.”

As if summoned by my insubordinate thoughts, there was a knock at my door. I stalked over to open it, ready to give his messenger a piece of my mind, when I threw open the door to find the prince himself, leaning against my door jamb.

“You were going to ignore my summons, weren’t you? Laura.” He said, my name rolling off his tongue as if it were a deliciously sinful word that he relished in saying. I mouthed wordlessly, all the steam gone. “I suppose you were offended by my request? You assumed that I wanted something….wicked?” He grinned. I finally regained my composure and narrowed my eyes at him. He was playing with me.

“What else could you possibly want from me?” I said, proud of the dignified way I delivered my short sentence. He smiled, leaning in towards me.

“Can I trust you, Laura?” He asked me, his eyes penetrating mine.

“I-I-I… Of course. I am not a traitor. I serve the throne of Asgard. Even if it is with burnt pudding.” I said as an afterthought. He chuckled. Then his smile slid from his face.

“Forgive my forwardness in sending the messages. I didn’t wish to write why I require your presence.” He looked at me for a moment longer, as if trying to decide whether to trust me or not. He sighed. “May I come in?” I nodded and he walked past me into my tiny room. He began to pace. “I cannot sleep. Nothing works. Potions. Spells. Just plain tiredness. Nothing. Then I heard a woman speaking. Reading some drabble from a book, and I could feel myself starting to fall asleep. Standing! I didn’t trust it at first, but then later that day, I heard her again, reading from a cookbook, of all things! And I began feeling drowsy. I laid down on the grass, behind a lovely bush and was almost asleep when I was assaulted by soup. I know this will sound odd, but will you read to me or even just speak, about anything, until I fall asleep?” He looked so hopeful that it almost broke my heart.

“I will.” I said. He grinned at me.

“Shall we begin tonight?” He asked eagerly, practically bouncing in excitement. I stared at the prince for a moment, taking in his ecstatic grin, and the bags under his eyes that magic barely managed to hide.

“I will come to your chambers in hour. But I must be excused from my kitchen duties in the morning. No one must know where I spent the night. Is that clear?” I said, trying to sound like I meant business. He smirked at me.

“Very well, Lady Laura. If this works, you will never have to toil away in the dungeonous kitchen again. I will anxiously await your arrival in my rooms. Until then.” He said. I had a feeling he was mocking me, speaking so formally. He grabbed my hand and brushed the knuckles with his lips murmuring, “Please, make haste.”

He chuckled as he stood up straight and turned and left my room. I stood, rooted to the spot, considering the deal I had just made. If it worked, if my voice could really lull him to sleep, I wouldn’t have to do anything but read the prince to sleep every night. Could there be an easier job?

Almost an hour later, I stood at the corner, peering down the hall that housed Loki’s chambers. It was deserted. Quickly, I made my way down the corridor to his door. Just as I raised my hand to knock, the door opened and a hand shot out and pulled me into the room. The door shut behind me. Turning to look, my eyes fell on Loki, standing in the living area of his rooms. He was wearing a green silk robe. I could see his bare chest exposed by the low V of the robe. He watched me, gauging my reaction with a smirk.

“Just reading, correct?” I asked him primly. He laughed uproariously.

“My darling kitchen wench. Do you think that I have brought you here with plans to seduce you? That will not help me sleep.” His eyes smoldered. “Believe me, I’ve tried it.” I mouthed wordlessly at him. I felt a flush creep into my cheeks at the thought of how foolish he must think I was. That he would lower himself to sleep with a servant. I thought of turning and running from the palace. Going back to my parents farm.

“No. While you have a very…. desirable body, it is your voice I crave. Please. Can we get started? I have not slept in weeks.” I was shocked by his admission, and slightly taken aback by his comment. I chose to ignore it.

“Weeks! How are you still functioning? No, how are you still standing?” I asked.

“Focusing spells, which are losing their effectiveness. Please, this way.” He said, proceeding me into his large bedroom. He looked at me over his shoulder as we entered the room. “I had originally given you a comfortable chair, but I didn’t want you to fall asleep as well.” He laughed awkwardly. He stood next to his massive bed, complete with green and gold covers, swinging his arms nervously. _He’s afraid it isn’t going to work!_ I felt bad for him at this moment and decided to try to … _what? Make my voice as smooth and soft as possible? Try to help him._

“Please, lets begin. Is this what you would like me to read to you?” I asked, reaching for a book laying on his night table. It was the book I had been reading in the garden.

“I thought you might like to continue with it, you seemed to be enjoying it when I heard you.” He said, dropping his robe. He had no shirt, and black sleeping pants. I attempted to avert my eyes, it didn’t work. He climbed under the covers, flopping back into the pillows sighing. As he lay there, I could see the spells and enchantments that he had been using fading away. He looked horrible. Completely exhausted. I cleared my throat and began reading, from the beginning.

> _“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”_

  
“What is this utter nonsense?" Loki sat up from his cocoon of cushions, a look of incredulity on his face.

"It’s one of the books that your brother brought back in the exchange program with Midgard. I happen to like it. Do you want me to read something else?” I asked him, trying not to smile at his outrage. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye and nodded for me to continue.

> _“However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters….”_

I read for about ten minutes, looking up from time to time to check. His eyes drifted closed before the end of the second page. By the end of the ten minute mark, his breathing was low and deep. I continued on for a few more pages, just to be sure he slept, then I marked the page and removed myself from his chambers.

The next evening, I was summoned to Loki’s rooms just as I had been the first night. I presented myself, promptly at sundown, and was greeted by him in his robe again.

“How did you sleep, your highness?” I inquired, quickly shutting the door behind me. He chuckled at my caution.

“Like a baby. Though I’ve been trying to decide all day if it was your voice, or that book. It was awful!” He declared, moving ahead of me into the bedroom.

“I can read something else if you like,?” I questioned, moving to the bookshelves that lined his room.

“Oh, no. No, lets continue with this one, just in case it is the book.” He said, not meeting my eye. He settled into his mountain of pillows and I picked up where I had left off.

“Wait, I don’t remember this part! Go back a few pages!” He demanded. Seeing the look on my face he grimaced. “Please.” I laughed lightly and went back to where I was sure he had still been awake. And so it went. I would read the prince to sleep every night, tell no one what I was doing, and in return, I didn’t have to toil away in the kitchen any longer. The first few weeks, Loki would drift to sleep almost immediately. More than once I would sit and watch him sleep, actually feeling pride in how well he was looking. _I had done that._

Once he had become rested and was back to a normal sleeping schedule, he would stay up longer and listen to the stories I read him. We would discuss them, and in turn, discuss our own thoughts, hopes, dreams. I eventually moved from my uncomfortable seat to sit next to him on his bed, sometimes with my feet in his lap.

I found that under his frosty exterior, Loki was actually a kind man, who was extremely smart, and he was becoming my friend. I looked forward to each night that I spent in his presence. There came a day, months after I began my new position, when I questioned him if we should try to not have me read to him, to see if he could get to sleep without my help.

“What? No. Out of the question.” He said, walking away from me into his bedroom.

“But Loki!” I cried, hurrying after him. “As much as I would rather do this, I can’t stand the thought that you are dependent on me!” He stopped, turning so quickly that I bumped into him. He gripped my arms, pulling me to his chest.

“Why, Laura? Why can’t you stand the thought?” He asked, his voice barely about a whisper.

“Because, what if something were to happened to me? What would you do then? Never sleep again? Perhaps we should stop and see if you can manage without me.” I said just as quietly, looking away from his searching gaze.

“Why would something happen to you? Is there something you aren’t telling me? Laura. Look at me.” He demanded. I flicked my eyes up to meet his and melted at the anguish I saw in his sharp blue eyes. He was worried about me.

“No, nothing is wrong, I just…” What I was, I never got to tell him, because he closed the distance between us, and brushed his lips against mine.

“Stay. Laura, please stay.” He whispered, his lips settling against mine. His hand skimmed up my back and entwined in my hair, pulling me closer to him so that he could deepen the kiss. “Please, stay with me always.”

 


End file.
